Summers in Political Cross Hairs

April 14th, 2009 • 12:07 PM

Larry Summers is increasingly the target of attack, as the rapid and substantial fall of Obama is sinking in among political pundits. Marc Ash of Truthout notes that "Hillary Clinton's admonishment that [Obama] was unprepared for what lies ahead now seems more real than at first imagined," and that the "raging inferno of corruption that began in the Bush years burns out of control now, and time is of the essence." Obama swept in due to the economic crisis, he adds, but, although it's "not clear exactly what Obama wants, Geithner and Summers want to repair Wall Street, to resurrect the system that now cannibalizes the nation's economy, not reform it. Geithner and Summers like the Wall Street system, and they want you to like it, too. But even if you don't like it, they definitely want you to pay for it. You are, and how." Ash adds: "Unless there is a jail cell waiting for those who break the law, then regulation is theater and nothing more."

Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research asks: "If the bank bailout fails, will anyone get the boot?" The bailout is clearly a "complete disaster," costing taxpayers hundreds of billions, while it "doesn't even fix the banks." Those who designed this disaster, he says, must at least lose their jobs—although he fails to mention the obvious name of Larry Summers.